Such a drastic change in population has been a major source of concern in the online community

I'll listen to the scientists over people who are worried sterile Mosquitos will pass on their damaged genes. Plus, this critter apparently has absolutely no usefulness in nature except spreading disease.

CruJones:Such a drastic change in population has been a major source of concern in the online community

I'll listen to the scientists over people who are worried sterile Mosquitos will pass on their damaged genes. Plus, this critter apparently has absolutely no usefulness in nature except spreading disease.

Dorf11:Sybarite: I've had one of the milder forms of dengue fever, and it was like the worst flu I ever had only with mutant superpowers. At least I'm supposedly immune to that version for a good long while.

Came here to say the same thing. Somehow drugged myself up enough to attend my wedding, the pics show my wife married a corpse. If I ever contracted the more serious strain, I'd almost rather be dead.

A gun runner's life in the Congo is a tough lot. But I salute you for following through ..

CruJones:Such a drastic change in population has been a major source of concern in the online community

I'll listen to the scientists over people who are worried sterile Mosquitos will pass on their damaged genes. Plus, this critter apparently has absolutely no usefulness in nature except spreading disease.

Spreading disease is incredibly important in nature, dummy. You ever heard of a Malthusian deadlock?

Gyrfalcon:CruJones: Such a drastic change in population has been a major source of concern in the online community

I'll listen to the scientists over people who are worried sterile Mosquitos will pass on their damaged genes. Plus, this critter apparently has absolutely no usefulness in nature except spreading disease.

Spreading disease is incredibly important in nature, dummy. You ever heard of a Malthusian deadlock?

If you're worried about human overpopulation, kill yourself. You don't get to make that choice for anyone else, and refusing to address problems which cause suffering and death for others is effectively the same. Besides, the Malthusian deadlock (a dubious idea to begin with) may have been "overcome" by disease once, but the premise was population outstripping its capacity to feed itself which sorts itself out rather neatly: the population can no longer grow.

NobleHam:Gyrfalcon: CruJones: Such a drastic change in population has been a major source of concern in the online community

I'll listen to the scientists over people who are worried sterile Mosquitos will pass on their damaged genes. Plus, this critter apparently has absolutely no usefulness in nature except spreading disease.

Spreading disease is incredibly important in nature, dummy. You ever heard of a Malthusian deadlock?

If you're worried about human overpopulation, kill yourself. You don't get to make that choice for anyone else, and refusing to address problems which cause suffering and death for others is effectively the same. Besides, the Malthusian deadlock (a dubious idea to begin with) may have been "overcome" by disease once, but the premise was population outstripping its capacity to feed itself which sorts itself out rather neatly: the population can no longer grow.

Humans aren't the only ones who get diseases. And not the only population that needs pruning now and then. Distemper is a population control for wild canines. Bubonic plague is a control for rodents. Malaria and dengue are controls on wild primates.

Eradicating mosquitoes because they make HUMANS uncomfortable would make life pretty damn difficult for all the other things on this planet, unless you like the idea of being overrun by mice with no way to kill them off.

NobleHam:but the premise was population outstripping its capacity to feed itself which sorts itself out rather neatly: the population can no longer grow.

and suffers massive casualties due to resource depletion that effects more than just the "too much" population.

Fixed. Think of it like a boom and a bust in a stock market. The bust can sometimes leave you in a worst spot than you were before the boom. And most non-sociopaths would like to avoid the busting part when it comes to human life.

I do agree overpopulation is no longer a concern, but it's because of technological breakthroughs with contraception, enlightened masses through family planning and figuring out half their kids weren't dying as infants anymore, and shifting economics that make children a financial burden. And most of the alarmist literature about overpopulation was from a time when it was not inevitable that these things were going to happen to a significant enough degree to have an impact.

Gyrfalcon:Humans aren't the only ones who get diseases. And not the only population that needs pruning now and then. Distemper is a population control for wild canines. Bubonic plague is a control for rodents. Malaria and dengue are controls on wild primates.

Eradicating mosquitoes because they make HUMANS uncomfortable would make life pretty damn difficult for all the other things on this planet, unless you like the idea of being overrun by mice with no way to kill them off.

I've never used a mosquito to kill a mouse in my life. People have been controlling mouse populations without the help of mosquitoes for thousands of years. And if we were capable of eradicating mosquitoes, which at this point we probably aren't, we'd probably be able to manage if those uppity wild primates or canines managed to have an overpopulation crisis. Mosquitoes are not essential to any ecosystem.

NobleHam:Gyrfalcon: CruJones: Such a drastic change in population has been a major source of concern in the online community

I'll listen to the scientists over people who are worried sterile Mosquitos will pass on their damaged genes. Plus, this critter apparently has absolutely no usefulness in nature except spreading disease.

Spreading disease is incredibly important in nature, dummy. You ever heard of a Malthusian deadlock?

If you're worried about human overpopulation, kill yourself. You don't get to make that choice for anyone else, and refusing to address problems which cause suffering and death for others is effectively the same. Besides, the Malthusian deadlock (a dubious idea to begin with) may have been "overcome" by disease once, but the premise was population outstripping its capacity to feed itself which sorts itself out rather neatly: the population can no longer grow.

NobleHam:Gyrfalcon: Humans aren't the only ones who get diseases. And not the only population that needs pruning now and then. Distemper is a population control for wild canines. Bubonic plague is a control for rodents. Malaria and dengue are controls on wild primates.

Eradicating mosquitoes because they make HUMANS uncomfortable would make life pretty damn difficult for all the other things on this planet, unless you like the idea of being overrun by mice with no way to kill them off.

I've never used a mosquito to kill a mouse in my life. People have been controlling mouse populations without the help of mosquitoes for thousands of years. And if we were capable of eradicating mosquitoes, which at this point we probably aren't, we'd probably be able to manage if those uppity wild primates or canines managed to have an overpopulation crisis. Mosquitoes are not essential to any ecosystem.

Quote: "Without mosquitoes, thousands of plant species would lose a group of pollinators. Adults depend on nectar for energy (only females of some species need a meal of blood to get the proteins necessary to lay eggs). Yet McAllister says that their pollination isn't crucial for crops on which humans depend."

PunGent:Quote: "Without mosquitoes, thousands of plant species would lose a group of pollinators. Adults depend on nectar for energy (only females of some species need a meal of blood to get the proteins necessary to lay eggs). Yet McAllister says that their pollination isn't crucial for crops on which humans depend."

I think I've read that article. In any case, I've seen the quote before, but the important thing to note is that those mosquitoes which are important pollinators are not from any of the blood-sucking species. The ones that don't bite and spread disease can stay, the blood-sucking ones can go without any significant impact.

Dorf11:Sybarite: I've had one of the milder forms of dengue fever, and it was like the worst flu I ever had only with mutant superpowers. At least I'm supposedly immune to that version for a good long while.

Came here to say the same thing. Somehow drugged myself up enough to attend my wedding, the pics show my wife married a corpse. If I ever contracted the more serious strain, I'd almost rather be dead.

Same here- I was pretty sure I was going to die on a Singapore hotel's bathroom floor wearing just my underwear. Kind of like David Carradine. I somehow managed to muster up enough energy to get on a plane and fly for 18 hours with it, afterwards my kidneys hurt so bad I couldn't stand up straight. Stubbornness kept from going to a foreign hospital, and I suspect kept me from dying because even that seemed like too much effort.